Build the writing life you long for. The Lotus and Pen explores writing, the creative life, mindfulness, spiritual practice, and mental health in and out of the writer's seat. Breathe. Write. Repeat.
About This Space
There’s a reason I get several emails after I post something to the Lotus and Pen. I’m writing about what’s coming up in my writing life as an author, coach, and mindfulness practitioner - not some pre-determined post, but something that feels urgent and that I sense others are feeling too, or need to see reflected back.
I’m writing about the patterns I see in my clients and students (I’m an MFA in Creative Writing professor). I’m writing about how the State of Things right now is affecting our practice and process as we grapple with a world on fire.
Subscribing means you get to have a mirror in your inbox that holds itself up to your own writing life. It means you will not only get a space to be vulnerable and tender, but also receive tools, writing exercises, and practices to support you and your creativity in these challenging times.
I’ve moved over seven years of my newsletter to Substack, so there is a LOT here that you will have access to. All free.
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
About Me
Heather Demetrios is a critically acclaimed author, writing coach, and mindfulness facilitator based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her publishers include Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and HarperCollins. Her work has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, German, Dutch, and Romanian.
She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN America Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her novels include Little Universes, I’ll Meet You There, Bad Romance, as well as the Dark Caravan fantasy series: Exquisite Captive, Blood Passage, and Freedom’s Slave. Her non-fiction includes the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall, and she is the editor of Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love.
Her honors include books that have been named Bank Street Best Children’s Books, YALSA Best Fiction For Young Adults selections, a Goodreads Choice Nominee, a Kirkus Best Book, and a Barnes and Noble Best Book. Her work has appeared in LA Review of Books, Bustle, School Library Journal, and other fine outlets.
Heather works with writers on integrating mindfulness into their writing practice, process, and life. In addition to being the Executive Director of Clouds in Water Zen Center, she is a Trained Mindfulness Facilitator through UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center. She is also the program director of Rebecca Dykes Writers in collaboration with the Highlights Foundation, where she works with writers who tell stories about trauma for young readers.
Find out more about Heather and her books at heatherdemetrios.com
:: STREET CRED ::
MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts
Trained Mindfulness Facilitator, UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
Currently pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Social Work with a focus on supporting creatives’ mental health and Bipolar Disorder
Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Certified Practitioner
Integrative Somatic Parts (IFS) Certificates through Embody Lab
Graduate Faculty, SNHU Creative Writing Program
Program Director, Rebecca Dykes Writers
Lay-ordained Soto Zen practitioner
